Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Politics Talk. You think Manafort indictment is the news? This is the real news that will change Washington DC!

via Politico

Monday’s 12-count indictment filed against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his colleague Rick Gates was stunning for a number of reasons: its breadth; the scope of the alleged criminal activity; and, of course, the fact that underpinning much of the indictment are facts demonstrating willful and knowing violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. The indictment likely means that after many years of lax enforcement, the requirements of this law will finally be taken seriously by the hundreds of law firms, lobbying shops and media relations companies that fall under its purview.

Enacted in the 1930s as a means to expose Nazi propagandists working secretly in the United States, FARA requires, broadly, that any individual or organization that undertakes “political activities” for a foreign client must register with the Department of Justice and disclose significant amounts of information about the work done for that foreign client and the money earned and expended. Registration under FARA is triggered by a broad range of activity not thought of as traditional lobbying. Strategic advice, coalition-building, grass-roots lobbying, communications advice and attempts to influence U.S. media and opinion-makers—if aimed at influencing U.S. public opinion—all require registration. Someone who undertakes those activities for a foreign principal that is not a foreign government or political party has the option to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which requires far less disclosure than FARA. But if, like Manafort and Gates, the U.S. advisers are working for an entity that is, or is controlled by, a foreign government or government-controlled entity, they must register under FARA. Willful and knowing violations of FARA can lead to criminal and civil penalties, including imprisonment.

Washington lobbyists who represent foreign powers have taken comfort for decades in the fact that the Justice Department rarely goes after them for potentially breaking the law. That all changed on Monday.

The news of Tony Podesta’s resignation from his namesake firm and indictment of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates sent K Street scrambling, as lobbyists rushed to make sure they’re in compliance with the rules. The developments also renewed calls for Congress to pass legislation beefing up the Justice Department’s enforcement of the law, which lawmakers in both parties have derided for lacking teeth.

“Firms are going to be even more careful than they have been in the past in the foreign lobbying arena,” said Trent Lott, the former Senate majority leader who’s now a lobbyist at Squire Patton Boggs, where his foreign clients have included Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Yeah. If you took the time to read both stories then you now know what the real story is when it comes to the Manafort indictment.

It's not the fact that he was working for Ukrainians and supposedly thru them the Russians.

NO!

The real story is that EVERYONE in Washington DC, after they leave the govt, is in the pocket of one entity or another....lobbying for one country, one interest group, one something or another to gain influence over our representatives.

This will affect EVERY NATION on the planet.

This will affect EVERY TRADE DEAL, AGREEMENT etc...that we have made with you name it!

For better or worse those that took out the long knives to kill the Trump agenda have instead cut their own throats in the process. In essence we're seeing the possibility of the swamp actually being cleaned out!

They want Manafort on a plate to get to Trump? They might have served up Hillary, Bill and Chelsea, along with Podesta and company on that same plate!